Trapped
by skywalkor
Summary: Modern AU. Jackson Overland Frost is suffering from bad immune system. His parents are a bit too paranoid to let him go to school or leave the house at all. Luckily, there's a freckled someone who won't get up on him even though he's trapped inside a bedroom all day… (Rating might change!)
1. Out Late

**Modern AU. Jackson Overland Frost is suffering from bad immune system. His parents are a bit too paranoid to let him go to school or leave the house at all. Luckily, there's a freckled someone who won't get up on him even though he's trapped inside a bedroom all day…They're both about 16 years old (Hiccup the age between HTTYD and HTTYD 2).**

**So, hey guys! This is my first hijack fanfiction, I thought I'd might give it a go. I've never written something like this before I suppose, hah, and I just study English in school (it's not my main language) so my grammar isn't always the best. You know the deal. **

**Oh, and Jack & Hiccup and other mentioned characters both belongs to Dreamworks. I own nothing but the plot! **

**Hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

"I'm going out!"

The boy had put on his red converse before the short-haired woman in the doorway even had time to blink. She opened her mouth but wasn't able to crack a sound until she was pushed aside, her son halfway out through the door and it was probably too late to stop him.

"Hic, can you please wait a second?"

He turned his face to her with a displeased look in his eyes. "What is it, mom?"

She took a deep breath. It wasn't easy dealing with kids these days.  
How was she supposed to put it without sounding like an ancient old grannie? No idea at all.

"Ah, you know… Eugene and I've been talking…"  
A tilt with the hip, a small gesture fixing a little with her bangs... An attempt to look nonchalant about it all. "We don't really like that you're out this late every other night. What exactly is it that you're doing again?"

The teenager's mouth was open. His facial expression summed up the sentence 'Is this really happening?' perfectly without putting it into words.

"Uhm…" he stuttered, not really sure what to really say. "I've told you… I'm hanging out with Astrid…"

"Ah-ah?"

The woman studied her son quietly for a moment.

"We're studying…"

His eyes were wide open and his lips pressed together, forming a perfect line. She could really see how his brain was working hard, trying to cope with her questions and most likely putting up scenarios of what would happen if she banned him from walking out. What a catastrophe it would be.

What if he knew that she had been calling Astrid's parents? That she knew that he never showed up there?

The concerned wrinkle on his forehead got bigger.

She knew it wasn't any kind of drug. Tobacco, alcohol, or stronger than that… He would never, not her boy. They had talked about it and he had stated it clear that he'd chosen to stay away from all that stuff, and both she and Eugene trusted that for sure. Such a bright teen.

But what was it then? What was it that made him run out at 8 every night and come back way later than appropriate?  
Friends? Unlikely. A girlfriend? Maybe this was the first love-stuff every other grown-up talked about. But it sounded a bit too innocent to be true. And who would it be if it wasn't Astrid? Those two were close – and had always been, but the friendship was too strong between them to become something more. And Hiccup didn't seem very interested in the other girls…

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders tiredly.

"Well, off you go, tell Astrid I said hi. See you when you're back. Don't stay out for too late this time!"

His face lit up like a candle on Christmas Eve, smiling like he couldn't think of anything better than this. "Of course mom, thanks!"

With the shoelaces still untied and the jacket just hanging over his shoulder he jumped out through the doorway and smashed the door close. All that was left was a ringing echo.

She drummed with the index finger on the jawline. Was it good or bad that she'd let him go? He had seemed so happy. Could something that made him smile that bright really be bad for him? He was just a boy.  
She hadn't heard him come, so when he laid his hands on her shoulders she got a little surprised, then relaxed.

His breath tickled by her ear when he spoke, almost whispered; "He's a grown boy. We can't lock him in forever and pretend that he isn't growing. He's a teen, R… Not our little baby anymore."

She turned around and faced him, eyed his slender face. Such brown eyes.

"He's still our boy, Eugene…"

"Of course he is. And he will always be… But he's not a kid. He's got to have his own time."

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. They curled up in a smile, and she couldn't resist to do the same.

"Guess you're right. Come one then…"

They left the hallway.

* * *

The adrenaline pumped in his veins. Small feet carried his body forwards, closer and closer to the goal. Almost there. Almost…

He could spot the lights on the other side of the road. As soon as he had passed the last five birches that peacefully whizzed by the cool breeze, he could even see the big white house loom. A few shadows danced by its windows, and an old lantern lit up the door.  
And, if he squint his eyes just a tiny tiny bit more, see _the_ window.  
_His_ window.

The gravel crackled under his feet while moving quickly, working himself forwards the last few meters. A shortcut over the grass made him reach the white-painted wooden walls even quicker than expected.

Full of excitement, the brunette looked up to the nearest window. He squint his eyes once more and tried to catch a sign of something; just a quick movement or a shadow. But he was disappointed. Nothing appeared.

What if he wasn't at home?

'Stupid… Where else would he be?'

Perhaps at the hospital. What if something had happened?  
A sting in his heart.  
Really, it hurt. It hurt as hell.

As if it could shake the bad thoughts away, he ruffled his brown curls and took a deep breath. It was at least worth a try!  
A metallic ladder was screwed up tightly against the wall, and he grabbed the rod that was closest and started to climb upwards.  
It actually took a while to find the balance and climb those few meters, and when he finally reached the windowsill his forehead was sweaty and his hands hurt a bit.  
But the teen didn't care.

Pressing one ear to the frame, he tried to listen.  
Not a sound. After a moment of uncertainty a small fist knocked on the window.

He waited.

Just when he was about to start climbing down again; heart beating and head spinning, the window opened up with an almost loud smash, and out peeked the head of a boy his own age.

It was incredible how pale he was. Hiccup had never seen anyone with a skin so bright, not even his own grandmother (who hadn't stepped out of her small little house in ages).  
This boy also had another kind of paleness. It looked more... Healthy.  
He couldn't deny saying that it was beautiful. Any girl at school would fall for him, right there on that place that exact moment, if they saw him. He looked like a fairy, from the bedtime stories.

Another thing about the little creature was his hair. It was snow white! As white as any hair could be without have being bleached thousands of times. As white as the cartoon character's hairs!

Blue eyes glittered, and his thin lips curled up in a smile. Yep, he definitely looked like a fairy. Even in the faded light from the lanterns…

The relief flushed all over his body, and he started smiling like a five year old at Christmas! Could a heart beat that fast? Could it really?

"Oh shit, sorry Hiccup! I didn't mean to… It was just, I was talking to dad…"

Embarrassing.

"No no - it's okay. I didn't tell you I was coming."

They shared a quick smile before the pale boy moved aside so his friend could climb in through the window. It went faster than usual. He was getting pretty used to it.

When both were standing with their feet on the floor, the window was closed again and they had both breathed out they looked at each other happily.

Hiccup broke the eye-contact quickly just to look around in the room again. He really loved it.

The walls were gray and pretty basic but the teen hadn't let that get in the way for making the room more personal. The boring walls were covered with movie-posters (a few of them obviously taken from cinemas, with the time stamp from the premiere still there on the bottom of the picture), some framed with lightning strands (his favorites?), some big and some smaller. Over the second biggest one, a retro and probably original, version of Star Wars IV: A New Hope, there hung a big TV with speakers and everything.  
One of the other walls was completely hidden behind a few bookshelves, and they were all stuffed with books – thick ones, small ones, colorful ones and plain black ones. He had probably read them all.

The floor was plain wooden, the bed big and covered with lots of blankets, pelts and he'd got at least five pillows. A sick man's bed.  
_'That sounded like a really bad movie.'_

But the best part with this boy's room was the roof.

See, this was no ordinary roof – it was pitch black all over, and covered with sparks. Stars! Stars everywhere, you could spot a new one every time you looked up. If you were looking from the floor then they were just spots, but if you got closer… You could see a prickly pattern around each one of them. They really were stars, carefully painted one by one.  
That pale little kid had got a whole galaxy in his bedroom roof.

"Your reaction is always the same…"

Hiccup turned his face to his friend again and smiled quickly. He scratched the back of his hair a bit embarrassed. "It's just… So cool, Jack."

"You think?"

It was obvious that Jack knew how nice it was, but he didn't brag about it. He was only glad someone enjoyed it. So he backed and sat down on the bed, lifting away a book so the brunette could sit down too. And so he did.

"What's it about?"

"Huh?"

"The book."

Hiccup pointed at the red cover that still were in Jack's hands, but he just dropped it on the floor a bit nonchalant.

"Nah, nothing. Just poetry and stuff…"

A muffled giggle broke out in the room for a second, until the white haired boy raised his eyebrow accusingly.

"What?"

Hiccup smiled. He didn't mean to sound rude, which he obviously had done, so he raised a hand and explained calmly; "I'm sorry, I just didn't know you were the poetry-type…"

"'Tempt not a desperate man.'"  
Jack smirked.

"I shan't."

"It's Shakespeare. But I could've said it too, you know. I'm a desperate man… A desperate man locked inside my own castle."

"… No, Frosty. You're a princess, patiently waiting for her prince to come save you."

He got a harmless punch on his arm and they both laughed – but Hiccup hesitated a moment. Was it really that fun? Well, at least they could joke about it.

"Y'know… I've been practicing…"

From under the pillow, the white haired boy took out a green case with a familiar cover. "I've been here for a while. Don't ever think you can beat me."

He jumped out of the bed and went over to the TV, plucked out the game and put it in the console, grabbed the controls and threw one at his friend. "Halo's not quite your thing, Haddock."


	2. Healthy?

**Ah, this chapter got way shorter than I expected but... Next one will be longer! See you around. **

**(I still owe nothing except for the plot, kind of.)**

* * *

"And you should have heard when Thomas made him say 'round and round and round'!"

The boys sat next to each other on the bed, both leaning with their backs against the wall and laughing loudly to Hiccup's stories. Jack almost burst out in tears while hearing about the Australian substitute teacher whose name was "E. Aster".

"And his name on that!" he groaned, "It sounds like Easter! What is he, an Easter-grannie?*"

The brunette wrinkled his nose til' his teeth got exposed, then started to move closer to his friend with a vicious look in his eyes. "'Ey, I'm 'Aster. Come to class! Come to class!"

"N-no, don't…" But he couldn't say more. It was simply impossible for him laughing too much and getting attacked by the other boy. They fought feverishly until Jack had begged for mercy thrice, and Hiccup finally fell over on his side. It took way longer than expected to gain breaths again…

Especially for Jack. Hiccup watched him worriedly while reaching over for the glass of water on the bedside table, then giving it to him. He took a zip and then smiled with watery eyes.

"Sorry…"

"Don't be. Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while, until Jack spoke again.

"It's just a cold… You shouldn't worry…"

"'Just a cold' that you've been having for a couple of years now…"

White hair-locks danced as his head turned away. He couldn't dare to look him in the eyes now.

"Jack, look at me."

No. Impossible.

"Please look at me… I'm not angry with you. I shouldn't worry, I know, but… Man, come on. You've been inside for too long. I should go talk to your parents…"

"No, you can't!" Irritated, the pale boy turned around. "Don't you fucking dare. Do you know anything about them? Do you know anything about _me_?"

With that, Hiccup was really offended. He didn't think when he almost started to shout, waving with his arms; "Yes, I do! How many times have I come here? You know it! Aren't I your friend? Your _best friend_?" _'Only friend'_ echoed inside his head.

"Yea but… Do you know anything about… _This_?"

Jack swept his hand over his body.

"I'm not well, Hic. I've got an immune system disorder – do you even know what that does to me? I can't go outside. I can't face the sun, I can't… Even… Touch things. I shouldn't see you, because my parents get paranoid and think that you're just a lump of bacteria and parasite who's going to get me killed. Still I'm here with you, and what does that say about me?"

He had tears in his eyes. In any second they'd start streaming down his cheek, so he almost angrily wiped them away before it happened. He was angry – at himself for losing it this quickly, for being him, at Hiccup for not understanding, at his parents for being what they were… Parents.

"You know what? It shows that you're human. That you're healthy."

"Oh come on, healthy?!"

"YES JACK, YOU ARE HEALTHY!" he was yelling now, desperate to show what he really thought. Why his heart was beating so fast and why it felt like someone had grabbed his throat and didn't want to let go, ever. "You are one of the healthiest humans I've ever met! You're nice to everyone you meet, you do as your parents tell you to do, and you know what? You're curious! How many times have you been outside your house? Once a month?"

"Three times."

"See? It's madness! I would've been crazy!"

Jack had to take a deep breath and think about what he just had heard. It made him feel… Warm. But he didn't want to lose this discussion; he had still things to say.

"You know what? It's because you're not me. You're not used to it."

"But do you really want to stay inside all day? Really? Your whole life just these walls, just… Sit alone all day?"

"That's not what I do!"

Hiccup looked at him. He didn't open his mouth, he didn't let out a sound, but his eyes said everything just by looking.

"I'm just…"

And that's about where he lost it.  
He couldn't stop the tears; they just kept on streaming down even though he wiped his cheeks time after time. Eyes got swollen and he started to sob, just like a child.

And Hiccup just reached out.

"You're an asshole…" Jack sniffled, holding the warm body as tightly as he could. Arms had never felt so comforting, so calm, and he could even hear his heartbeats rhythmical drumming.

"I know."

_'I'm your asshole.'_

He breathed in the scent of Jack, shampoo and newly washed clothes. Was he ever anything else than clean?  
Paranoid parents, huh.

Was it just him, or was it _really_ hot in there? Their hug was too tight. Too much.

Their bodies were so close, like glued to each other. Comforting, but… Something else?  
No, impossibly.  
Even though he might wished so.

"JA-ACK!" A sudden deep voice groaned from beneath the floor. "Jack, are you alright? I thought I heard you yelling…"

Thud thud. Heavy feet walking up the stairs, coming closer and closer.

As two like poles on a magnet they jumped away from each other, Hiccup quickly up on his feet and up by the window, opening it and being ready to climb out. Jack wasn't far behind helping him out on the ladder again.

"Quickly" he murmured and wiped his tears, close to cracking up in a nervous short laughter because of the rush of adrenaline. "Out, out…"

When Hiccup was stable standing outside on one of the iron rods, hands grabbing one too, they looked at each other and smiled.

"Shit…"

"I'm coming back."

"Looking forward to it."

* * *

_*Easter-grannie - In Sweden when we celebrate Easter, some children dress up as Påskkärringar (Easter-Grannies), make cards and go out to knock doors and wish for a Happy Easter. A bit like Halloween but brighter and more cheerful I guess. I used that in this fanfiction because I think it's taking place in Sweden, Norway... Or any other northern-Europe country. Also, it's more of an insult to call someone Easter-grannie than Easter Bunny. Even though he actually is the Easter Bunny... _

_Very well! See you in a while with the next chapter!_


	3. Tell The Girl

**This chapter is a little bit longer. But I still own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

Bzzp bzzp.

**[You've got ONE new message!]**

Green eyes glanced at the cellphone.

No, this was not the time to start texting. He had more important things to do.

The boy was sitting by his writing-desk with two books open and a lot of empty paperwork which was waiting to be done. Homework was really a bitch sometimes.

Also, the phone was distracting him. His eyes kept on looking at it as soon as he stopped focusing on the square root out of 50 or something… It was so boring he wanted to cry and throw the schoolbook in a wall. Why was it important to learn things like this?

Perhaps if he took a break…

Bzzp bzzp.

**[You've got TWO new messages!]**

**[You've got THREE new messages!]**

That was enough. He picked up the phone and pressed the read-button. The first one.

From: Jackson

Message: Hey, what's up? Are you coming over tonight?

It was almost impossible for him to not smile. The second one.

From: Jackson

Message: So I'm sorry of I'm bothering you but it's getting really boring here. I can help you with your homework. I'll let you play my new Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Pretty please?

Now he was talking… So what was in the third one? A cry for help?

From: Astrid

Huh? This was new. Not that he never got messages from Astrid, no, but they hadn't seen each other in a while, and they didn't talk that much in school anymore. It wasn't anyone's fault, they were just… Growing apart. Which was sad, of course, but he'd gotten the feeling that she wanted more out of their friendship than he did.  
The fact that he was using her as an alibi to go see a sick boy that was trapped inside his own bedroom only made it worse.

Message: Hey Hic, we've got to talk about a few things. Come over?

Shit. So, what was he supped to say? Which one of them?  
Astrid's seemed urgent. And they really had to clear up a few things between them.

He pressed the return-button and managed to click up Jack's latest message. After a second of thinking he started typing.

To: Jackson

Message: You getting desperate, ey? Sorry, I can't tonight.

It actually hurt writing that. Not really sure of it was because that he felt responsibility over looking after this kid, or if it was because he actually wanted to see him more than he wanted to see Astrid, he swallowed and hoped the annoying lump in his stomach would disappear.  
It didn't, but he ignored it.

To: Astrid

Message: See you in 5.

He took a moment to think over what he just had said written, then press the send-button one last time. A quick glance at the writing-desk before he grabbed the jacket, opened the door and stepped out in the hallway. He made it downstairs in just a second, stepped in his shoes and walked out through the door before shouting over his shoulder;

"Mom, dad! I'm going to Astrid's!"

'It's actually true this time.'

"Sure, see you in a while! Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too dad!"

And with that he was out on the street.

It was 7pm, but the street was surprisingly empty. No kids spotted, but this was also probably the time when they came home from soccer practice or theater class or swimming lessons or things like that. They were probably all inside, watching cartoons and eating cereal with milk, talking to their parents about how awful school is or how funny their friends are.

He sighed. Those were the times. Now it was all about status, grades, looks, love…

The sky shifted in pink and orange. The light shone down peacefully at the colorfully painted houses and the green grass.

He turned his face to the right. If he started walking that way, he'd soon leave the peaceful street and come out to the empty road. After that he'd see the cliffs, and when he'd reached them he'd be able to spot the big white house again, beside it the ocean, and out there… The lighthouse.  
It was a really beautiful place.  
Especially now when he knew who lived there.

He shook his head. This wasn't the time to regret his choice. Astrid was waiting; he just had to turn left.

And so he did.

It didn't take long walking to her house. It was just on the end of the street, the big red one with a big balcony and a blue door. Their garden was big too – but although all that, she was the only child. Maybe her parents didn't want more kids, maybe they couldn't… But they had always been happy as they were.

He knocked on the door but didn't bother waiting for someone to come open.

"Hello! Astrid?" He shouted.

"Up here!" she answered from up the stairs.

"Oh, hi Ha-"

He frowned. Of course Mrs. Hofferson had to call him by his birth name. No one ever did, except for her.

"It's Hiccup, Mrs. Hofferson, and hello on you too!" he hurried and interrupted.

"Well, well…" The woman came walking out from their living room with a teacup in her hand and a broad smile decorating her lips. "Up you go. She's waiting."

He nodded and took of his shoes before running up the stairs and into Astrid's room where she was sitting, on the floor, legs crossed and chewing on the edge of a pen.

"Hi Haddock. Close the door behind you?"

He did, and then sat down beside her, glancing at what she was doing.

"Homework" he stated, a bit disappointed. Was that what she had texted him about? Was it just homework?

"Yea… You know how much work Gape is giving us? He's a killer-machine!"

She closed the book by protest and turned her head his way, eyed his face closely with squinted eyes – like she wanted to look into his mind and pull out every single secret she didn't know about.

"But that's not why I texted you."

Great. Now he was starting to feel nervous too…

The blonde girl had squinted her eyes to the point that her cheeks started turning red. "We never see each other anymore. What's going on, Hicks? We were close as siblings, and now…"

Her hands signed an explosion.

"I don't know, Astrid… It sounds like we're breaking up…"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"We're not even a couple. We're just friends, remember? I… I've just been doing other things…" He couldn't afford to look her in the eyes. She'd force the truth out of him, like she always could. He loved her for that – but this time, maybe it was too much? Jack was his secret. Jack was what made him wake up in the mornings and think positively. Eat his food, do his homework… And then might have a chance to see him.

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not."

Avoiding her searching look only made it worse, he knew that. But what was he supposed to do?

"Yes you are…" She started smiling, "Hiccup Haddock - you're seeing someone!"

"No I'm not, stop-"

"Yeah, but you are! Who is she?! Tell me all about it!"

"If that's why you told me to come here – just so you could interrogate me – then I might just leave."

He stood up with his lips pressed together and his eyes still avoiding hers. One part of him wanted to tell her, one part of him wanted Jack to stay his own. It was so selfish it made him feel sick, he knew that, but at the same time he was thinking at the boy's safety.  
He didn't want anyone to know except for him.

"Hey, don't go-"

"I've got to…"

"No you don't."

It only took a second for her to get up on her feet and force him to look her deep in the eyes.

"Tell me what's going on."

He swallowed. He couldn't lie.  
As shoulders relaxed he started thinking, maybe it wasn't so bad telling her after all… She was his best friend. She always understood.  
And he'd feel a lot better after telling her.  
Maybe this was the best. Maybe she could help.

"Okay…"

Her eyes lit up, cheeks got a little bit redder – like she hadn't expected him to give in so easily. That was nonsense... He always gave in when she convinced him that way.

"Okay – is that it? Who is it? Don't tell me it's Merida because then I'll shove something up your tiny ass…"

"N-no! It's not Merida, why would you think that?" Actually, Astrid tended to scare him sometimes.

She smiled innocently and stroked his cheek with her pinkie. "I don't know… You seem so tense it wouldn't surprise me if it was her of all girls, my best friend…"

"No, it's not her… Just let me explain."

With a hand on her shoulder he forced her back on the floor in sitting position, same for him. They sat opposite each other, and tried to talk in a normal tone without shouting. A challange for Astrid.

"His name is Jack. Or, Jackson, I don't know which one he prefers… He lives by the ocean – you know if you go left when you leave the village and then-"

The girl raised her hand to stop him from talking, her mouth hanging wide open and her eyes just staring at her as if she wasn't sure he was being serious or not.

"Wait – you've got a boyfriend?!"

"No, n-no! That's not what I meant! You asked who I've been seeing… No, it's not like that, we're just friends! Let me explain…"

Her look was mistrusting but she let him continue.

"Yeah okay so… Uhm… Oh, he lives by the ocean. In the white house we always talked about when we were at the beach, remember? We thought it was just a couple who couldn't get kids. But that's wrong. They've got a son, they've got Jack, and he's living there all on his own…"

"Why?"

"He's suffering from a disease that makes his immune system really weak. He can't go outside, Astrid. He can't move a single limb outside that room… His parents are paranoid, they just won't let him. He's out three times a month! I'm telling the truth, I know you know I do."

She looked so surprised, a bit shocked. But she believed in him. He understood why. They had never believed that a kid their age would live in the house by the cliffs. Never. So many times they had been there, by the ocean, just watching boats come and go, children sit in the sand and play, parents lay in the sun trying to get a tan… But they had never seen anyone walk in nor out from that house.

"How did you meet him?"

Hiccup looked away a bit embarrassed. "I was down the beach, just… I don't know, well, looking? At the ocean. Imagining what's out there. I do that sometimes when I have to clear my head. I didn't see him at first, but then when I did it was quite hard to take my eyes off him."

Her lips curled up in a smile, but before she had opened her mouth he interrupted and explained, "No, not like that, he's just not like any other boy our age. He's so pale… Like, a sick pale, and his hair is incredibly white. So I honestly thought he wasn't human at first… Y'know, a ghost? But then he talked to me and said I had dropped something and it was my wallet and we just kind of started talking to each other. "

"When was this?"

"I don't know…" he counted on his fingers, "three months ago?"

"Wow…"

She looked down on her feet, probably unknowing of what to say. That was really unlike her – but on the other hand, he'd react the same way if he was in her position.

"And since then you have just… Done what?"

Hiccup shrug his shoulders, "Hanging out. Well, we talked and then exchanged numbers and then he invited me over one day. His parents know about me. Just don't that I come there more often than once in a month… They've got a ladder just outside his window. I can climb up and see him whenever I want to."

"But, does your parents know about this?"

Shit. This was when it got really embarrassing… Of course, his ears started to get red. She noticed right away.

"You haven't told them?!"

"What am I supposed to say?!" he countered, "Hi mom! Hi dad! I've been sneaking out late night to see a sick guy and hold him company, because we're both lonely and we need each other!"

"That sounds like a really dramatic gay movie…"

"Exactly. You're not going to tell them, are you?"

She studied her finger nails closely like she was mocking him – and she probably was. After a few seconds of silence she opened her mouth and said; "Look, Eugene and Rapunzel deserves to know. But since you're my best friend… I'll let you tell them for yourself. Just don't make them wait for too long, they probably suspect something already."

The brunette sighed and run a hand through his uneven and messy curls, trying to force them on place. "Right. Yeah…"

Before any of them could continue, Mrs. Hofferson's loud and clear voice came echoing from downstairs.

"A-strid sweetheart!"

The teen groaned and yelled back, which made Hiccup raise his hands to his ears to protect them by pure reflex.

"Yes mom!"

"Isn't it time for Hiccup to head home soon? She's 11 already! You've both got school tomorrow, remember that!"

The boy frowned and stood as quickly as he could.

"Shit!"

"It's cool Haddock. Your secret's safe with me. See you tomorrow at school!"

"Yea, see you!"

And he ran down the stairs as fast as he could, jumping into his shoes and shouting one last goodbye before bursting out through the door and out in the late night.


	4. X and Y

**New chapter! A bit short, but at least something? I'm writing longer chapters after this. I promise, hah. **

* * *

"You want to take her here?"

"If it's okay with you!"

Hiccup was sitting on one of Jack's pelts, on the floor, with his math-book wide open and a glass of lemonade right beside it. The white haired boy himself was comfortably placed under two blankets in the bed, with a console in his hand and Hiccup's latest Batman-game running on screen.  
He had paused to listen to his friend's story, and a wrinkle appeared on his forehead probably meant that he was thinking about the proposal.

"I don't see why not. I mean, I haven't met a girl in a while…"

The brunette immediately started thinking that maybe it was a bad decision.

"Who is she anyway? Your girlfriend? You don't talk about her that much…"

"No! No, she's just a friend…" Did he just shout? Damn.

"Alright."

They sat in silence for a while, only the sound from the videogame breaking in with muffled screams here and there.

"Bu-ut if you don't want to-"

"No, no it's not that, it's just… I haven't met anyone in a while. Except for you. Not that you don't count, you're just… No, but you catch my drift huh?"

_'Not really, no.'_

"Yes, absolutely."

"But sure! You can bring her. She won't tell your parents then?"

"Nah, don't think so."

"Great."

Was it really such a great idea bringing Astrid to Jack's? She wouldn't do anything; it would hopefully just make her realize that telling Hiccup's parents wasn't even on the map. They'd never understand. It would all turn out fine if he just could relax a bit…

Which brought him back to the bitter reality that there was a math-book in front of him, homework that had to be done.  
The boy groaned in protest, and that was enough to wake Jack's attention again. He left the blankets and rolled down the bed (bringing several pillows with him…) just to stare down in Hiccup's book too, trying to understand the formulas, x and y's.

"Is it hard?"

"A bit, yeah…"

Their eyes met.

The blue ones were always so fascinating. They seemed to shift shade, and could go from deep blue to dark or to almost turquoise just depending on the light. It was like they were the ocean – never really what you expected.

The teen realized that he'd been staring for too long, and looked down in the book again, just as embarrassed as ever.

"Math, huh?" he said to break the awkwardness between then.

"I don't have a problem with it…"

"It's because you're a small little genius. Einstein Overland Frost. Home teacher and everything…"

Jack raised one eyebrow and looked at him. "My teacher is great, you're just jealous."  
He punched Hiccup on his arm and laughed silently, "well well… Who wouldn't be? He's great, really great. And I learn a lot, 'cause it's kind of interesting. World War I, equations, Spanish, what comes after Zink on the periodic table…"

"Alright…" the brunette tried to see it from him friend's point of view, but no matter how hard he tried all the subjects felt just as boring as ever. "But hey, if you could choose a job, whatever you'd like, which one would you choose?"

The blonde looked surprised. It wasn't something he was thinking about every day, jobs and life and so on. "I don't really know…"

"Come on! I know what I'd choose."

Jack nodded, waved with his hand to make Hiccup talk. He was interested.

"Ah, uhm, promise not to laugh?"

"I won't."

"I'd probably choose archaeologist. In countries with a lot of history, digging for the past and so. I really like history… And, then I could be a part time writer, writing about what I've found. Then I get to see the world at the same time, so it really sounds nice."

Jack nodded eagerly, "and you can be the new Indiana Jones."

"That would be awesome. How about you?"

"Ah… Perhaps video game developer? Wouldn't that be cool?"

The brunette agreed.

His friend picked up a book from the floor, pulled out a drawer on the bedside table and picked up a red marker. As he opened the book and started to underline parts of the text in it, he continued to talk to Hiccup meanwhile, looking up a few times. "So tell me about this Astrid. Who is she?"

It took a while to get the answer.

"She's my friend. Since kindergarten, or I don't know, before that too. She's funny and brilliant, and I really do like her. She's determined about almost everything, and she's a real friend."

Jack looked at him while he was talking. Or rather, watching him, trying to analyze how he talked about her and what weight he put in the words.

"You like her?"

"She's nice..."

"Come on. In _that_ way."

"No, I don't think so. That's the sad part, because I kind of want to like her that way, she'd be an awesome girlfriend, it's just… Something's stopping me and I don't know what. It just feels wrong. And it's not her fault, it's mine…"

"It's no one's fault. Just wait and see, 'kay? Perhaps you'll get feelings for her."

_'I doubt it.'_

"Perhaps."

"So…" The blonde looked down in his book again. "You'll come here tomorrow?"

Hiccup sighed and nodded as answer.  
It was time for him to get Jack out in the real world.


	5. Sneaking Out

**This came out way too late. I'm so sorry guys! The chapter is pretty long though. I hope it works out. More coming!**

* * *

They were walking over the wet grass 2am the following night (or morning?). Astrid was wearing sweatpants and hiking boots, the real deal, like she was going out mountain climbing, and she looked as excited as ever. Adventure! It had always been her thing.

Hiccup on the other hand, had started doubting his decision. Maybe this wasn't the greatest idea after all… Maybe this was just stupid. What if Jack couldn't make it?

But it was partly too late to say that. They had already reached the house and Astrid was counting the windows, trying to figure out which one who hid a sixteen year old boy behind it.  
It didn't take long until she had found the one with the ladder and grabbed it to start climbing.

"Wait!" Hiccup hissed between clenched teeth, "You can't go! He'll get scared to death if a stranger comes climbing up his window!"

"But you told him I'm coming!" she answered, a little bit too irritated and a little bit too loud.

The brunette frowned and stared at the house, waiting for a reaction.

Nothing happened.  
He breathed out.

"Shh! Quiet… And uhm yea I did, but can I climb first at least?"

She released the ladder with a sigh and swept with her hand in the air as an inviting gesture towards it.  
He murmured a thank you as he grabbed the nearest pole and started climbing up with the blonde right beneath him, closer and closer to their goal.

The window flew open before they had reached the top, and a familiar messy mane of hair looked up, blue eyes hidden behind the white curls and a smirk decorating his thin lips.

"Hey Hic!"

That was not butterflies in his stomach, no way.  
But it felt awfully good to see his face again.

The boy reached out over the sill and tried to catch a glimpse of the girl that stood beneath his friend. The curiosity glowed in his eyes.

"Come on, get in. Quickly. And try to stay quiet!"

It didn't take long for the brunette to get inside the house. He'd done it several times before, and his feet moved by their own when he stepped on the sill and grabbed the wall to pull himself inside. Quickly after him came Astrid – who also had no trouble getting in. He suspected that she had climbed not only walls before.

A dim light from the roof-lamp cast shadows over their faces as they looked at each other, Jack not hiding his excitement, Hiccup happy that they hadn't awakened his parents and Astrid with an impressed look that danced around in the room.

She was the first to break the silence. A mere whisper was enough.

"This place is amazing!"

Jack chuckled silently and looked at her. "Thanks. Well I've had my time…"

She tucked a lock of hair that had fallen over her eye behind her ear and eyed him openly, with a smile on her face.

"You must be Jackson."

"Jack."

Okay, he prefers Jack.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

They giggled.

Wow this was going well. A little bit too well actually, Hiccup thought and pinched his lips to the point it almost started to hurt.  
A part of him wanted to stop their conversation but he immediately dumped that thought and just kept watching them instead. Why would he do something like that? This was his idea after all, god, why did Jack have to act like prince charming just because he met a girl?  
Not that there was anything wrong with Astrid. But it made him feel a bit sick. The kid had watched too many romantic comedies, that was for sure.

"… So the ones with lightning strands are your favorites?"

"Yep! Star Wars, Pulp Fiction… So on."

"You're into older movies then?"

"Not all of my favorites are old but most of them aren't made these past years no. They feel more real, if you understand what I'm trying to say? Not just computer animation, but actual props and dolls and handmade things…"

She nodded like she was agreeing and they giggled a little, sounding like school girls on their first day in class.

"So Jack-" Hiccup started but got interrupted by a squeal from his friend.

"Wow! Did you paint all these?"

She pointed up in the roof and the stars and the other boy looked amused and a bit proud. After all, this was his triumph card. "My dad helped me."

Okay so, everyone was impressed by the roof. How couldn't they be? The brunette tilted his head back and yawned but no one took notice of him.

"Wow, okay so do you, like, count them when you're trying to sleep or something? That would be so calming… Hey! What's that?"

Her finger was pointing in a direction closer to the wall by the north, and she stepped closer to see what exactly it was… Her guess was right. It was a tiny face drawn inside the star, a man with just one single hair curl that pointed out from his star-face. When she squint her eyes a bit more she could see that it wasn't even a star! Well, in one way it was, in one way not. It looked more like the moon. A tiny, tiny version of the earth's own moon, that looked at them with a smile.

"Oh that's Manny. I talk to him sometimes when I'm bored…"

"Manny?" she laughed, "you drew the moon in the roof, gave him a face and call him Manny?"

If it hadn't been so dark in the room then Jack probably would've blushed, but it was quite impossible to see. "It's… It's just one of the fairy tales mom used to tell me when I was a kid… About the man in the moon… You've never heard it?"

The smile on Astrid's face got wider and she walked up to him again, smiling brighter than the sun, "Of course I have! My parents used to tell me-"

This was where Hiccup interrupted for the second time and actually succeeded to get their attention, coughing loudly and grabbing her arm. "Astrid. Aren't we going to tell Jack why we're here?"

"Oh! Oh that, yeah."

Now the blond boy was looking at them suspiciously. "Tell me what?"

Hiccup smiled nervously and chuckled, "what we're going to do tonight."

"I thought we were going to like, I don't know, watch a movie or something?"

'Way too many romantic comedies...'

Astrid couldn't help herself. "No silly!" She laughed, "We're taking your outside!"

Jack frowned in his position and turned his face towards Hiccup. Even though his face wasn't lit up, the brunette could feel how nervous he had gotten. Tense. Maybe even a little bit scared.  
"No way" the blonde whispered.

A cold hand had grabbed his own, slender fingers squeezed his palm. It was a way of refusal. But Hiccup wouldn't give up.

"Jack…"

"No. Don't do this."

"Come on. You've been out before…"

"Not like this! I've only been out with my parents. Never in the middle of the night, never by myself…"

Astrid's calm and warm voice answered slowly as she walked closer to him. "But you're not alone, Jack. We're here with you. Come on… Have a little fun!"

It was the Astrid-talk. The 'have a little fun' that no one could say no to. Hiccup knew, he had fallen for it several times… God knows how many angry pensioners who had suffered from eggs on their cars (only the ones who deserved it though!), or how many times they had borrowed her dad's boat to go out driving in the middle of the night, or how many home-made tents they had built together out in the forest when they were 'running away from home'.  
Jack seemed affected too. He looked at her, visibly reconsidering what he just had said.

"It's not safe."

Hiccup squeezed his hand back, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"It's never safe! It'll be fun. Come on."

As Astrid encouraged Jack, Hiccup made it to his wardrobe to pick up something his friend could wear. It wasn't cold outside, not really… But you never knew with this kid. Anything could happen, and they didn't need him to get sick. 'Even more sick.'

He picked out a blue knitted jumper. It looked thick and comfortable, so he hung it over his shoulder and then grabbed a black scarf before walking back to them.

"… My parents are going to kill me." Jack said, turned to the girl.

"They won't find out."

Hiccup threw the jumper at him, and hung the scarf over his shoulders. "Get dressed. We're going out."

"But my jacket is downstairs. So are my boots."

Astrid cleared her throat and swung the backpack off her back, opening it up and pulled out a pair of caterpillar boots and a pile of black fabric that if folded out turned into a wind-jacket. "We've already thought about this."

For the first time in quite a few minutes, Jack's face relaxed and he even dared to smile a little.  
He started to pull the jumper over his head while Astrid stood by and held out the other things for him.

The brunette went over to the window.  
Pointy fingers unlocked the shutters, and gently pushed them away.

It wasn't as dark outside as it had been when they had left their houses at home. Slowly but barely noticeable the sky had turned brighter step by step and left dark blue for something lighter, purple and baby blue. A cold breeze blew by. Probably created around the ocean.

When you live somewhere, you never really look at the beauty of the place. You know it's nice, you know everyone thinks so, but you don't open your eyes. You don't see what everyone else sees.  
This time, Hiccup Haddock did. He stood wondering by the window, just looking at the sky and the reflection of it in the ocean.  
The cliffs.  
The birches.

He was amazed. A place like this… Where he had grown up. Where he had gone bicycling with friend every summer just so take a dip in the ocean and then lay in the sun-warmed san and maybe sleep for an hour or two.  
Now it looked so different, like it was in a different universe but looked exactly the same.

Maybe this was a different universe. Growing up made everything different.

In that case, was this the Jack-universe?

"We're ready."

Her voice was soft as silk, but he still snatched by the sudden break of reality. He hadn't been paying attention at his friends, and now they were standing behind him, ready to climb out.

"Yeah, uhm sorry… Come on. Me first?"

Jack nodded a bit nervously, and Hiccup took his first step out on the window sill and grabbed the ladder with one hand. Push away with one foot, and…  
With a swing he was standing on the ladder again, starting to climb down.

Now it was Jack's turn. Hiccup looked up towards him all the time. He had a feeling it would all go well… This kid had watched him do it thousands of times, and he was clever. He could do it.

That was true. It didn't take long until Jack was out, grabbing the iron poles as firmly as he could to cling on to the ladder tightly.

"Come on, you can start walking down now! The hard bit's done!" the brunette said as loud as he dared. Jack did as he said.

When they were both on the ground, Hiccup smirked towards his friend who seemed to have lost his breath.

"Wasn't that hard."

The blonde looked grumpy. "I never said it was. I just don't think this is such a good idea. My parents will kill me…"

"That's what they're trying not to do by keeping you inside that room all day, so I don't think they'll stop wanting you alive just over one night…"

Jack was actually a bit irritated, but there was something keeping him from getting mad. A concern. He took a step closer and looked Hiccup right into his eyes, "Perhaps. But they'll start hating me. They'll think I'm sneaking out because I want to hurt them… And they'll stop me from seeing you. I don't want that to happen, Hic."

The last thing made the brunette's stomach take an unexpected twist.

Before they could continue the conversation, Astrid landed on her feet right behind them. She stroke away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eye and then sighed loudly.

"You won't regret this. Come on."

"Turn around Jack"

The white haired boy did.

It wasn't like he hadn't seen the ocean before. He had walked down there, met people, talked to them. It was usually during the late autumn or early spring, but now – the summer was over but the leaf were still clinging onto the trees, bursting with color, and the sky was still so awake and dyed in different shades. It was early and it was beautiful.

His eyes glittered just as much as the ocean.

"Let's go down to the cliffs!" Astrid almost yelled, and started running. As excited as a kid.

Hiccup chuckled at her and gave Jack a friendly pat on the back. "Come on!"

The pale boy didn't answer, but he smiled and started jogging after the girl, side by side with his friend.


End file.
